DUBLIN, Ohio – Joaquin Niemann could figure out where Tiger Woods was on the golf course from the mass of people following him a few groups ahead, and he had a pretty good idea what he was doing from all the noise, at least before Woods put a putter in his hands.

“There was so many people,” Niemann said.

The few that stuck behind for the 19-year-old Chilean saw another good show.

In his fifth start as a pro, Niemann finished with two birdies over his last three hole s for a 4-under 68 and a share of the lead with Kyle Stanley, who had a 66. He finished with an 8-foot birdie on the 18th hole.

Woods made Muirfield Village sound like a rock concert until storms arrived. He holed out with a sand wedge from 97 yards for eagle on the par-5 11th hole, and then his tee shot on the par-3 12th struck the flag waving in the wind and settled 6 feet behind the hole.

And then he sat out a weather delay that lasted just under 90 minutes, and he missed four putts under 7 feet the rest of the way.

“It could have been easily a nice little 62 or 63,” Woods said. “I turned it into a 67.”

And he was six shots behind with nearly two dozen players in front of him.

Stanley, who won the Quicken Loans National last summer, was atop the leaderboard for much of the day and was starting to pull away until a poor tee shot at No. 6 led to bogey. He finished with a par save from just off the ninth green and reached 11-under 133.

On the other side of the course was Niemann, the No. 1 amateur in the world and Latin American Amateur champion who wanted to play the Masters before turning pro. He looks his age when his braces shine every time he smiles. He plays beyond his years.

Already with a pair of top 10s on the PGA Tour, Niemann now finds himself in the last group going into the weekend at the tournament Jack Nicklaus built, and he doesn’t appear to be the least bit nervous about being there.

“It feels really nice to be on top of the leaderboard,” he said. “It does feel really nice for tomorrow.”

Byeong Hun An had a 67 and was two shots behind.

Among those three off the lead were Hideki Matsuyama (71), who earned his first PGA Tour title at the Memorial three years ago, and Jason Day, a former world No. 1 who is a member at Muirfield Village and has never come close to winning. Perhaps this is the year. Day had never been within five shots of the lead going into the weekend at the Memorial, and he’s not sure why.

“I think I just (stunk) on it for a long time,” Day said. “I don’t think there was anything, any reason why. I just didn’t really play well. But I’m hopeful I can change that because I feel different this year.

“I want to play well in front of my family,” he said. “Family and friends come out and I want them to be yelling in the crowd when I’m in contention.”

Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose each had a 66 and were in the group at 7-under 137, while Dustin Johnson was among those at 138, even though he has played the par 5s in just 1 under for the week.

Johnson and Rose each have a chance to get to No. 1 in the world. Justin Thomas, in his debut at No. 1, overcame a pair of early bogeys for a 69 and was at 3 under.

Adam Hadwin (70) of Abbotsford, B.C., was tied for 69th at even par. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., missed the cut after shooting a 73.

Woods was another shot behind, and it looked as though he was about to post his lowest score of the year. He made the turn in 33 with a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 9, and then he made a solid escape from the rough and trees on No. 11 before holing out for eagle.

He missed birdie chances of 6 feet, 4 feet and 7 feet, and then missed from 3 feet for par on the 17th that left him exasperated.

And hopeful.

“I missed a lot of short putts, which is something I don’t normally do, which is just frustrating,” he said. “I’ve got to clean that up come this weekend and hopefully, I can get it going. Hopefully I can play well like this on the weekend and I’ve got a great chance of winning this tournament.”

At least he has a chance.

Rory McIlroy made bogeys on both par 5s on the front nine as he tried to finish strong. He had to settle for a 70 and made the cut on the number. That was still better than Jordan Spieth, who finished bogey-bogey for a 72 and missed the cut by three shots.

Since his closing 64 at the Masters, Spieth has finished at least 12 shots behind the winner in his three tournaments and missed the cut in his final event before heading to Shinnecock Hills for the U.S. Open.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Hideki Matsuyama and Tiger Woods hit their stride at the end of their rounds at the Memorial, and it paid off in different ways.

Matsuyama was in the middle of the pack at Muirfield Village when he ran off four straight birdies and then holed out with a wedge from 130 yards on the 17th hole for an eagle that sent him to a 7-under 65 and a share of the lead with 19-year-old Joaquin Niemann of Chile and Abraham Ancer of Mexico.

“As the round went along, I played better and better,” said Matsuyama, who got his first PGA Tour win at the Memorial four years ago.

So did Woods, which helped him avoid another big number on a course where he has won five times. Woods three-putted from 25 feet to fall to 3 over with five holes to play. He answered with three straight birdies – two of them on par 5s on the front nine – and got up-and-down from 62 yards on the ninth hole for a 72.

“It was nice to somehow grind out the round, turn it around and finish even par,” said Woods, playing the Memorial for the first time since 2013.

Niemann, who won the Latin America Amateur Championship in January, appears to be on the fast track to the PGA Tour. He turned pro after the Masters and already has a pair of top 10s in his four events. Another one this week might be enough to earn special temporary membership on the PGA Tour, meaning he would have unlimited exemptions to try to earn his card.

Ancer had only one bogey on his card early in his round, and he followed with eight birdies. It was the first time he has had a share of the lead after any round in his 40th start on the PGA Tour.

It wasn’t his first time at Muirfield Village, just Ancer’s first time playing the tournament.

He got that firm handshake from the tournament host in 2010 when Ancer received the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top junior college player when he was at Odesa College. He later played at Oklahoma.

“I got to come here as a freshman, get that award from Jack. That was incredible,” Ancer said. “It was like deja vu walking the fairways – watching from the outside, and now playing. It’s a dream come true. And today I felt great.”

Beau Hossler, who keeps showing up on leaderboards in his rookie season, had a 66. The group at 67 included Lucas Glover, while Jason Day was among those at 68.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., was tied for 47th at even par 72. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., was in a group at 74th, 2-over 74.

So many of the other top players struggled.

Justin Thomas, in his debut as the No. 1 player in the world, was trading birdies and bogeys and was making progress until he hit his approach out-of-bounds on the par-5 seventh hole and made double bogey, sending him to a 72. Also at 72 was Dustin Johnson, who made nothing but pars on the back nine and failed to birdie any of the par 5s.

Rory McIlroy played the par 5s in 1 over and shot 74. Phil Mickelson was 4 under through eight holes until a double bogey on No. 9, and then four bogeys over his last six holes for a 74. Jordan Spieth shot 75, hurt by two double bogeys on the front nine. He went from a fairway bunker into the water on No. 6, and then went some 25 yards beyond the green on the par-3 eighth for another double bogey.

Matsuyama’s big run began after a sluggish start to the back nine on a muggy, humid day that left Muirfield Village soft, particularly with a burst of heavy rain late Wednesday. The Japanese star chopped his way out of the nasty rough on the 10th and 11th holes, both times making bogey.

And then he couldn’t miss.

It started with an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 13. He followed with a wedge to tap-in range on the 14th and another wedge to 2 feet on the par-5 15th. After a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th, he was in the middle of the fairway when his wedge landed beyond the hole and spun back into the cup.

Matsuyama hasn’t had a top 10 since the Sentry Tournament of Champions to start the year (tie for fourth), and he has been struggling with a left thumb injury.

“It has been frustrating,” he said. “In the past, even if I wasn’t playing well, I could still get it around, get it in the hole. So the last couple of months have been trying. I’m just really glad that I was able to play well today and post a good score at the start.”

Niemann tied for sixth in his pro debut at the Valero Texas Open, and he had a 65-66 weekend at Colonial to tie for eighth. He has started quickly, much like Jon Rahm of Spain two years ago when he secured his card in four starts, boosted by a tie for third and a runner-up finish.

Niemann isn’t sure how many FedEx Cup points he needs for special temporary membership.

“I just want to be out here and enjoy my round and try to play my best and see how it goes,” he said.

Canadians Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Hadwin are T47 and T74, respectively.

Knowing they need some solid finishes this summer to secure their futures on the PGA TOUR, Canadian rookies Ben Silverman and Corey Conners say their impressive showings at the Fort Worth Invitational are a huge confidence boost heading into a crucial stretch of the season.

Conners finished eighth and Silverman 11th at last week’s event just outside Dallas, Texas, to give each of them a 19-point boost in the FedEx Cup standings. Still, Conners, now 109th, and Silverman, 124th, know there is work still to be done to reach the target of finishing the campaign in the top 125 and automatically earning PGA Tour status for next season.

“I’ve been eyeing it since the season started in October,” said Silverman by phone from Texas.

Both golfers posted huge rounds in Texas en route to their best finishes of the 2018 calendar year.

Silverman shot 5-under 65 in Sunday’s final round – his best-ever round on the PGA TOUR. Conners shot a 7-under-par 63 on Saturday – tied for the round of the day – en route to his first top-10 finish on the tour.

“It’s what I needed to see,” said Silverman. “Things with my game have been progressing in the right direction but I just haven’t seen the results out of it that I should.”

Silverman, who had two top-10 finishes in the 2017 portion of the season, missed his previous three cuts entering last week’s event. But the 30-year-old said he has shown he can compete.

FORT WORTH, TX – MAY 25: Ben Silverman of Canada looks on on the ninth tee during round two of the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial Country Club on May 25, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

“When I don’t have a day like Saturday (when Silverman shot 2-over-par 72) I’d be much closer to the lead, and that’s where I should be when things with my game are going well,” he said. “I’m just going to keep working on everything I’ve been doing and I’ve got lots of good stuff coming up this summer.”

Silverman and his wife, Morgan, welcomed their first child in November, and he said for the first time they tried something different on the road last week: booking a one-bedroom suite. Silverman slept on the pullout couch when he had an early tee-time and said that helped him get better rest and resulted in better play.

Conners was in the last group on Sunday two tournaments in a row in March – the Valspar Championship and the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship – but struggled in the final rounds, finishing tied for 16th and 13th, respectively.

Conners’ final-round scoring average of 72.02 has him 168th on Tour, but he said he learned “a ton” those weeks in March. It helped him feel more comfortable on Sunday in Texas, en route to his best ever PGA TOUR result.

“I was definitely more relaxed and focused,” he said. “It’s definitely different on Sunday. You try to play just another round of golf but you know it’s the final day and you’ve got to try to make a move.”

Conners and Silverman are off this week from the PGA Tour, but they will attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open at sectional sites in Ohio on June 4.

Silverman said if he gets into the U.S. Open he will not play the week before, at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn., but Conners said no matter if he gets in or not, he will play in Memphis.

Conners played the U.S. Open last year after qualifying, while Silverman has not yet played a major championship.

FORT WORTH, Texas ─ Justin Rose got his first PGA Tour victory at Jack Nicklaus’ tournament. His latest came after finishing 20 under at Hogan’s Alley, three strokes ahead of defending U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka.

“If you are able to win at a course that has great history, has had great champions, and if I begin to look at the courses I’ve won at, this definitely strengthens that group even more,” Rose said after his closing 6-under 64 Sunday in the Fort Worth Invitational.

Along with the plaid jacket that comes with winning at Colonial, the longest-running PGA Tour event still played at its original site (since 1946), Rose added to an impressive list of traditional courses where he has won.

There was that victory at Muirfield Village in the 2010 Memorial, and the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion among his nine PGA Tour wins. His 11 international victories include the 2014 Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, and the 2007 Volvo Masters at Valderrama in Spain.

“I’m very proud of the places I’ve been able to win,” Rose said. “I’m not saying they suit my game, but happy my game has turned up and I’ve been inspired by some of these great venues.”

In the final round at Colonial, where Ben Hogan won five times, Rose stayed aggressive while playing with Koepka even after starting the day with a four-stroke lead.

Koepka shot 63 on way to his sixth runner-up finish in three years. Both of his second-place finishes this season have been behind Rose, the 37-year-old Englishman and No. 5 player in the world who also won his 2017-18 debut in October at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

“It was very impressive the way he played all day. He never backed off,” Koepka said. “Never really gave an opportunity for anybody to get in there.”

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., had a 69  to finish in a tie for eighth at 9 under while Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., finished 8 under.

Emiliano Grillo had a 64 to finish third at 16 under, his fifth top-10 in 16 starts this season.

While Rose missed matching Zach Johnson’s 2010 tournament scoring record of 259 because of bogey on the 72nd hole, first-round leader Kevin Na matched the course record with a closing 61 and finished fourth at 14 under.

Fourth-ranked Jon Rahm shot 68 and was tied for fifth at 10 under with Louis Oosthuizen (68) and Kevin Tway (67).

After birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 for the third day in a row, Rose gave up a stroke at the difficult 459-yard third when his drive went into a fairway bunker and he hit from there into the rough.

Rose got that stroke back with a 23-foot birdie putt at the 474-yard fifth hole, the toughest at Colonial, to restore his lead to four over Koepka.

Koepka’s highlight shot of the day was birdie blast out of a greenside bunker at the sixth hole to get to 13 under. But Rose immediately responded by making his 12-foot birdie putt. Rose had a five-stroke lead, his biggest, after a 10-foot birdie at the ninth hole got him to 19 under.

“For Brooks to shoot 63 and not win in the final pairing took some doing from me. It was a really fun day to be part of,” Rose said. “Glad that my A-game turned up when I needed it, and I’m glad that I got my mindset right at the start of the day.”

Na tapped in for a birdie at the 435-yard 18th hole to match his career-best score and become the seventh PGA Tour golfer with a 9-under round at Colonial _ the first since Chad Campbell in the third round in 2004. Na also shot a 61 in the third round of the 2010 Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina.

After an opening 62 that ended with a 92 foot chip-in from the rough when he ended his first round at No. 9, Na fell back in the field with a 73 in the second round and then shot even par Saturday.

“First round I was one out of it. I was thinking one of these days I’m going to get a chance to shoot the course record,” Na said. “I didn’t think it would come on Sunday.”

Jordan Spieth made a short birdie at No. 18 on Sunday for a closing 68 to finish 5 under and tied for 32nd at Colonial, where he had a win and two runner-up finishes the past three years. The third-ranked player has played in 20 PGA Tour events since his last win, at the British Open last summer, but feels a good run is coming for him.

“Each week is getting a little better,” Spieth said. “I’m getting into where I’m not making bogeys, and then soon _ the not making bogeys is great _ and soon I’ll get back to the five, six birdies around and shoot some low rounds. So I know it’s right around the corner.”

FORT WORTH, Texas – While Justin Rose felt good about his four-stroke lead after three rounds at Colonial, he wasn’t yet counting down the holes left in the Fort Worth Invitational.

“I think I’ve won and lost actually from four ahead, so I’ve got experience both ways,” Rose said after shooting a 4-under 66 on Saturday to get to 14 under. “Just shows you can’t get ahead of yourself.”

Rose also remembers how he won his PGA Tour season debut, a surprise in Shanghai in October after he began the final round of the HSBC Champions eight shots behind Dustin Johnson, then the No. 1 player in the world.

“I’ve got experience the other way,” Rose said. “So you can see how things can go both ways real quick. … Great position going into tomorrow, yeah. Look forward to putting it away, but I kind of know there are going to be challenges out there.”

Canadian rookie Corey Conners had eight birdies over his last 12 holes for a career-best round of 63 that matched Ted Potter Jr. for the best of the day.

Conners, of Listowel, Ont., was tied for fourth at 8 under, in a group of five players that included fourth-ranked Jon Rahm and Louis Oosthuizen after they both shot 64. Five more players were at 7 under, including Potter.

Fifth-ranked Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion and Olympic gold medallist with eight PGA Tour victories, led by four over playing partner Emiliano Grillo and defending U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka. Grillo shot 69 while Koepka had a 67.

On a steamy day in North Texas – with temperatures in the upper 90s and it feeling even warmer – Rose birdied the first three holes to quickly extend his lead from one to four over Grillo, who had eight pars in a row before consecutive birdies at Nos. 9 and 10.

“You can’t drink enough (water) out there,” Rose said. “Yeah, it was a factor today. I struggled a little bit on the bad nine with my focus. … I was really trying to put one foot in front of the other and stay committed.”

The closest Grillo got after the opening stretch was three strokes, when he was 11 under with an 8-foot birdie at No. 10. Rose regained his four-stroke edge with a birdie at the 616-yard 11th hole.

“Well, he’s top 10 in the world, so everything he does, he does it pretty well,” Grillo said. “When he missed the driver, he was able to get it on the green somehow.”

Rose’s only bogey was at the 173-yard 16th, when the tee shot settled on the back fringe and he then missed a 5-foot par chance.

This is the largest 54-hole lead at the Hogan’s Alley since Kenny Perry led by seven in 2005 on way to his second decisive win in three years – he had a record eight-stroke lead for three rounds in 2003. The largest lead anyone had taken into the final round since had been two strokes, and that had happened only twice.

Koepka had three birdies his last seven holes after a double bogey at the 11th, the only blemish on his card. His second shot went out of bounds, and his approach went into a greenside bunker after having to take a drop in the rough.

“Just kind of one of those freak things,” Koepka said. “The driver head comes loose off the tee. Felt like the club just wiggled in my hand and we’re in a divot. It’s still a bad swing regardless from the middle of the fairway.”

Rahm, who last year tied for second at Colonial with Jordan Spieth behind winner Kevin Kisner, was 6 under after 10 holes Saturday. Then Rahm bogeyed the par-5 11th when he followed a 342-yard drive in the fairway with an approach hit out of bounds.

“Probably the best 10 holes I’ve played so far this year. It was an amazing performance. Front nine, I felt like I didn’t miss a shot,” he said. “Too bad on that second shot on 11. … It’s a tough second shot try to hit the green. I didn’t want to bail out left. I wanted to be aggressive. I made the only poor swing of the day.”

Spieth shot 70 on Saturday, putting him 11 strokes back at 3 under.

Before playing his first Colonial last year, Rahm had been there during tournament week the previous two years to accept the Ben Hogan Award that goes to the nation’s top college golfer. The 23-year-old Spaniard was a four-time All-American at Arizona State.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., were tied for 38th. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., was tied for 47th.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Ben Silverman is the top Canadian through 36 holes in the PGA Fort Worth Invitational at the Colonial Golf Course in Fort Worth, Texas. The 30-year-old Toronto, Ont. product finished the round in sixth place after a 1-under 69 put him at 5 under, 5-strokes behind the lead.

Justin Rose considered his first 15 holes in the second round at Colonial pretty flawless. The last three worked out OK, too, even with the only bogey for the leader of the Fort Worth Invitational.

“Last three holes got a bit scrappy,” Rose said after a 6-under 64 that got him to 10 under Friday at Hogan’s Alley.

After missing the green at the 422-yard seventh hole, the Englishman chipped in from 16 feet for a birdie. He missed the green again at the par-3 eighth for a bogey. Then after his tee shot into the rough and an approach that just cleared the water fronting his final hole, the world’s fifth-ranked player two-putted for a closing par.

That was good enough for one-stroke lead over Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo , whose 67 included six consecutive holes without a par. Defending U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka (63) and Satoshi Kodaira (67) were 7 under.

Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champ who won the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in his season debut last October and has four top-10 finishes, said he played “about as good as” he has overall in a long time. Things really got going after caddie Mark Fulcher offered a few words when Rose was a bit frustrated about a couple of missed putts while starting the round with four consecutive pars.

“Fulch kind of said, ‘Come on, mate. Stay with me. Stay patient.’ I got rewarded with the very next hole making a 10-footer for birdie,” Rose said. “I made enough good putts on the back nine today where I have some confidence going into the weekend.”

The birdie at the 457-yard 14th hole was the first of three consecutive birdies for the 37-year-old South African, who has eight PGA Tour wins.

Grillo was at 10 under when he rolled in a 28-footer at No. 17, his fourth birdie in his first eight holes. But his ensuing tee shot went way right into a concrete ditch, and his ball floated with the flowing water before being snagged by a fan just before it dropped into a drainage area. After the penalty stroke and drop, Grillo hit into a greenside bunker and bogeyed.

“It’s a little bit on the downslope and it’s all concrete, so the ball was rolling,” Grillo said. “I was able to make some birdies in there. I got very unlucky on the first hole and No. 3 there.”

The second nine for Grillo started bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie.

Defending Colonial champion Kevin Kisner was even after a 68 on Friday. Jordan Spieth, one of the locals and No. 3 in the world, also shot 68 and is 3 under.

Aaron Wise, the 21-year-old rookie coming off his first PGA Tour victory a week ago at the Byron Nelson, missed the cut after a 73 left him 3 over _ the same as Webb Simpson, who won The Players Championship this month.

After a 62 to take the first-round, Kevin Na struggled on the back nine for a 73. He went into weekend 5 under and in a logjam of nine players tied for sixth place. Tyrone Van Aswegen was alone in fifth after consecutive 67s.

Na was 10 under after a 5-foot putt at the ninth hole, a more traditional birdie than the 92-foot chip-in from the rough he had to end the first round. But Na then had bogey at the 631-yard 11th hole, and double bogey at the 440-yard 12th hole before a three-putt bogey on the par-3 13th.

Koepka, who said he has dislocated his left wrist twice in the last two months, was 7 under through 11 holes Friday _ and that is how he finished.

“I probably could have snuck about two, three more,” he said. “But you know what, I’m pleased. If you had told me I was going to shoot 7 under before I teed off, I would’ve taken it.”

On his first two holes Thursday, his return to the PGA Tour after a course record-tying 9-under 63 on the final day at The Players Championship, Koepka had a bogey and then double bogey at a par 5. But he has 12 birdies and two bogeys in his last 32 holes, three weeks before the U.S. Open.

“I feel like I’ve been playing well. I just haven’t put four days together,” Koepka said. “But I feel like it’s trending in the right direction. I actually feel like exactly where I was last year at the same time. … Hopefully in a couple weeks’ time, it’ll be the same result.”

Corey Conners (68) of Listowel, Ont. is 1 under, Adam Hadwin (72) of Moosejaw, Sask. is even while Mackenzie Hughes (68) of Dundas, Ont. is 1 over. Canadians David Hearn (73) and Nick Taylor (74) failed to make the cut.

DALLAS – Aaron Wise strolled up the 18th fairway in the fading twilight, lifting his hat over his head a couple of times as the thinned-out crowd cheered what would soon be his first PGA Tour victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson.

The 21-year-old rookie pulled away from Marc Leishman at the turn after a four-hour rain delay to start the final round at the new Trinity Forest course Sunday. Then it was just a race to finish before nightfall so he wouldn’t have to wait at least another 12 hours to celebrate.

Wise shattered the Nelson record at 23 under, shooting a 6-under 65 to beat Leishman by three strokes as both became the first to finish the Nelson at 20 under or better. Leishman, who shared the third-round lead with Wise after leading the first two days, shot 68.

The treeless links-style par-71 layout, a few miles south of downtown Dallas, was defenceless with softer fairways and greens and no wind once the morning storms passed.

The Nelson celebrated its 50th anniversary with a return to Dallas after 35 years at the TPC Four Seasons in suburban Irving. Rory Sabbatini set the previous record on that par-70 layout at 19-under 261 in 2009.

“It’s everything I’ve dreamed of,” said Wise, who won once each on the Web.com and Canadian tours. “I felt like when it rained today I was really going to tear the course up just because it allowed me to hit driver, which is my strength. I got a lot of short irons in my hand and was able to make a lot birdies.”

Branden Grace matched his career-best 62 from last year’s British Open _ which was the lowest round ever in a major and finished at 19 under with J.J. Spaun and Keith Mitchell, who had matching 63s.

Hometown star Jordan Spieth again couldn’t improve on his best Nelson finish from his first start as a 16-year-old amateur in 2010. The three-time major winner, and highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3, shot 67 to finish at 11 under. Spieth tied for 21st.

Instead, Spieth has been joined by another 21-and-under winner, with Wise cruising a month shy of his 22nd birthday and two weeks after the 2016 NCAA individual champion at Oregon tied for second at the Wells Fargo Championship, two shots behind Jason Day.

Spieth doesn’t have a top 10 finish in eight Nelson appearances, the most of any tournament for him.

“Felt like I played better than I scored,” Spieth said. “Typically when you say that, it just means putts didn’t go in.”

Mitchell, also a rookie seeking his first win, and Ryan Blaum had matching 30s on the front nine, with both playing the last six holes on that side in 5 under. But Wise had five birdies over those six holes, and added one on the 10th while Leishman bogeyed.

His lead suddenly at four shots, Wise cruised from there without another par _ and didn’t need one. Blaum’s run of five straight birdies ended with a bogey at 10, one of three on the back nine for him. He shot 66 and finished at 16 under with Kevin Na (68) and Jimmy Walker (67).

Leishman set a 36-hole Nelson record that was previously shared by Tiger Woods because of calm wind the first two rounds. A blustery Saturday brought scores up, but Trinity Forest was even more benign for the final round than it was the first two without its firm fairways and greens.

“Springtime in Texas, this is very rare to have three days with no wind,” Spieth said. “This course typically plays like (Saturday). That’s what you’re looking at normally three out of the four days here.”

Adam Scott shot 65 to finish tied for ninth at 15 under but was projected to finish just outside the top 60 needed to avoid sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open. The 2013 Masters champion hasn’t missed a major since 2001.

DALLAS – The wind finally blew on the new Trinity Forest course at the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Aaron Wise wasn’t rattled, not even by a bogey that dropped him into a tie for the lead on the final hole Saturday. Now the 21-year-old PGA Tour rookie is ready for another run at his first victory.

Wise shot a 3-under 68 to pull even with Marc Leishman, four shots ahead of Matt Jones and Kevin Na going into the final round.

It’s not the first time Wise has been in this position, though. Two weeks ago, he finished tied for second at the Wells Fargo Championship, two shots behind Jason Day.

Besides, Wise has won at every level – including the 2016 NCAA individual title while helping Oregon win the team championship just before turning pro. He was the first player in eight years to pull that NCAA double.

“There’s a little more pressure on it because there’s more people and it’s a bigger scene, but I felt like I did a great job of handling all that at Quail Hollow,” Wise said. “Being my second chance at it, I feel like it’s only going to be better than that.”

Leishman shot 69 after setting a 36-hole tournament record previously shared by Tiger Woods. The 34-year-old Australian had a career-best 61 in the opening round.

Hometown star Jordan Spieth couldn’t make a move from eight shots back, shooting par 71 and falling 10 strokes behind.

Wind gusted above 25 mph at times after two rounds of calmer conditions and lower scores on the treeless, links-style layout a few miles south of downtown Dallas. The Nelson spent the previous 35 years at a more conventional venue in suburban Irving.

One illustration of the struggle came late with the strong crosswind at the par-4 18th, where five of the top six on the leaderboard had bogey or worse.

Na (69) and Jones (68) had to settle for 13 under. Jimmy Walker shot 70 with a double bogey on the final hole that dropped him to 12 under, with Brian Gay, who bogeyed 18 for a 72.

Nick Taylor (69) is the top Canadian at 7 under. Corey Conners (73) is 2 under.

Wise played in more wind than Leishman and most of the other leaders Friday when it kicked up in the afternoon, and still said Saturday’s conditions were significantly different. And he still said it was fun.

“I love playing really firm golf courses because it brings a lot of thinking in,” Wise said. “I didn’t have quite as many drivers as I had the last couple of days because it was firmer.”

With one notable exception: his 402-yard drive on the downwind par-4 ninth. All Wise had left was a flip wedge on the 504-yard hole, and he made the 11-foot putt.

“It’s pretty cool to be able to make decisions like that and kind of use my advantage, which is my driving when I can,” he said. “But you still got to play safe. This course has enough teeth where you can’t just bomb driver everywhere.”

Spieth was hoping for the teeth on one of his home courses, but couldn’t take advantage of his experience with it. The Dallas native even admitted he’s still struggling to figure out the greens.

The 24-year-old had three birdies and three bogeys and is in danger of going another year without surpassing his best Nelson finish – a tie for 16th when he was a 16-year-old high school junior in 2010.

“I finish 16th tomorrow and people are going to say, ‘What’s wrong?”’ said Spieth, a three-time major winner. “It’s funny how expectations change. But certainly my own do as well.”

Wise said the difference with strong wind on the course co-designed by Ben Crenshaw showed up quickly when his tee shot on the par-3 second hole ended up 30 yards right of his target.

For Leishman, it was the long ninth hole when he hit a 3-wood to try to land short of a fairway bunker 340 yards away but “went straight in it.”

“That’s a bit of getting used to,” the three-time tour winner said. “Normally I can’t hit my driver anywhere close to that.”

After 41 scores of 66 or better in the first two rounds, there were just two Saturday. Charles Howell III shot a 65 for the lowest and only bogey-free round of the day.

“It’s a lot different,” Jones said. “This is what the course is built for.”

Leishman, who still has a chance to be a wire-to-wire Nelson winner two years after Sergio Garcia did it, retook the lead with birdies at Nos. 14 and 15. Wise answered at 16 and 17 before his three-putt at 18.

“He’s a solid player for I heard this morning he’s only 21. I didn’t realize that,” Leishman said. “I guess I was in high school before he was born. You hear guys talk about that all the time, but I’ve never said that, I think.”

The Aussie will be dueling Sunday with the youngster, born in South Africa but raised in the United States.

“It’s easy for me to get ahead of myself,” Wise said. “I’m getting some great experience for a kid this young. It’s only going to serve me well down the road.”

DALLAS – Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., are the top Canadians at 2 under after the first round at the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas, TX. Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., (70) is right behind the duo while David Hearn Brantford, Ont., (71) is even.

Marc Leishman enjoyed the old home of the AT&T Byron Nelson as much as anyone, considering he made the last nine trips there and had one of the best scoring averages in tournament history.

The Australian might take a liking to the new place as well.

Leishman shot a 10-under 61 on the links-style Trinity Forest course to take the first-round lead Thursday and was eight shots clear of hometown star Jordan Spieth in the event that returned to Dallas after 35 years at the TPC Four Seasons in suburban Irving.

Considering the criticisms of Trinity Forest from others – mentioned vaguely by players who did show up – Leishman wouldn’t have needed much to join that chorus after a history of high finishes in Irving despite a couple of recent missed cuts.

Instead, Leishman opened with an eagle, started the back nine with three straight birdies and reached 9 under with another eagle at the 14th.

The 34-year-old, a three-time PGA Tour winner, had chances to go lower but settled for a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th for the lowest round of his PGA Tour career. He was a stroke shy of the Nelson record.

“Probably would have been the harshest critic, I think,” Leishman said with a smile. “I played very well over there. When I got here and saw instantly, you know, was happy that we’re here and it’s just a cool spot.”

J.J. Spaun and Texan Jimmy Walker were three shots back at 64. Spaun had six birdies in a span of seven holes for a 30 on his second nine – the front nine on the undulating layout with no trees or water hazards a few miles south of downtown Dallas.

Walker had a chance to get to 8 under when his shot from the edge of a fairway bunker on 18 rolled within a foot of the cup before settling 14 feet away. He missed the birdie putt.

Sam Saunders, Aaron Wise and Keith Mitchell shot matching 65s playing in the first group off the first tee. They were part of an eight-way tie four shots behind Leishman. Defending champion Billy Horschel shot 68.

Spieth, one of just two world top-10 players in the Nelson field at No. 3, didn’t have many chances and missed on some of the few that he did, starting with a short birdie putt for a disappointing par 5 on the opening hole.

It was another frustrating round for the 24-year-old Spieth, a Trinity Forest member who was hoping the venue change would help him top his best Nelson finish. That was a tie for 16th when he was a 16-year-old amateur playing for a private high school in Dallas.

Spieth had just three birdies when the course was at its easiest because of calm winds. His bogey on the short par-4 fifth came after he drove the green and then sent an 82-foot putt off it.

“Looking back the last year and a half I’ve had maybe four, five opportunities where I’ve actually been in a tournament after the first round which is really frustrating,” Spieth said. “Thursdays for whatever reason just haven’t been good days for me.”

Saunders, Wise and Mitchell each opened with a birdie as the first to tee off on the par-5 first. Saunders had the most birdies of the trio with eight, Wise had seven and Mitchell had a bogey-free round.

The grandson of the late Arnold Palmer, Saunders played Trinity Forest before the Nelson last year and made up his mind then he would return for the debut.

“I think it’s a very fair test of golf,” said Saunders, who missed the cut at the last two Nelsons in Irving. “There was a lot of thought put into all the slopes out there. You’ve got to think your way through it a little bit more than some of the courses we play.”

Horschel said he didn’t do enough thinking after losing the momentum of an eagle at the par-5 14th on his front nine with bogeys at 16 and 18, both par 4s. And yes, he said they still count as mental mistakes even though he and most of the field don’t know the course very well.

“It’s stupid idiot errors,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s knowing what I shouldn’t do and it’s just me trying to get greedy. I know better than that on certain shots.”

With a forecast of stronger winds and temperatures in the mid-90s on Friday, Trinity Forest figures to play a little tougher after 103 players broke par in its debut. Spieth will be surprised by a repeat of Leishman’s number.

“Looking at the forecast, I don’t think that will happen again,” Spieth said. “I’m excited there’s wind. I wish it was windy every day. I really struggled when there’s been no wind compared to the field this year and today was no different.”

And all too familiar for Spieth in front of the home folks.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Starting with the largest Sunday lead ever at The Players Championship was harder than Webb Simpson imagined. Hearing one big roar after another from Tiger Woods playing four groups ahead of him didn’t help. Through it all, Simpson managed his game and his nerves.

Only when he had the crystal trophy did he start to crack.

He looked out at his wife, Dowd, a big supporter during the past few years of frustration as Simpson coped with the ban on the anchored putting stroke he used to make two Ryder Cup teams and win the U.S. Open.

And he thought about his mother at home in North Carolina, her first Mother’s Day since Simpson’s father died in November.

“It’s been a tough few months for my mom, my brothers and sisters,” Simpson said as his voice began to crack. “This is a little beacon of light for my mom, to get this done on Mother’s Day.”

There was never any doubt.

Simpson navigated his way through a few mistakes, but not too much stress in his four-shot victory Sunday at the TPC Sawgrass. Staked to a seven-shot lead, no one got closer than four shots, even after Simpson made double bogey on the 18th hole when his only remaining task was to finish the hole. He closed with a 1-over 73 to end more than four years without winning.

Woods made another big run that revved up the crowd and revived hopes that he was close to winning. So did Jason Dufner, Jimmy Walker and Danny Lee. None could do enough to catch Simpson during a week of low scoring at the final Players Championship in May. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., finished tied for 57th.

“It was harder than I thought,” Simpson said. “There’s so much noise in front of us with Tiger, and you wonder what everybody is doing.”

The key moment for Simpson was hitting just short of the green on the par-5 11th to set up a two-putt birdie, and then finding the island green on the 17th when he had a six-shot lead.

“Once I got to 17 and the ball was on the green,” he said, “internally I was celebrating.”

Justin Thomas left the TPC Sawgrass as the No. 1 player in the world. He closed with a 66 to tie for 11th, more than enough to end Dustin Johnson’s 15-month reign at the top of the ranking. Thomas is the 21st player to reach No. 1 since the ranking began in 1986, and the seventh American.

“I’m very proud to have gotten there, but it means more to me how long I can hold it,” Thomas said in a text message.

Jimmy Walker closed with a bogey-free 67 and tied for second with Charl Schwartzel and Xander Schauffele, who also shot 67s. Walker, who struggled all of last year with Lyme disease, had his best finish since he won the 2016 PGA Championship.

Woods made the cut on the number – helped by Thomas and Jordan Spieth making bogey on the 18th hole Friday – got back to the first page of the leaderboard with a 65 on Saturday and ran off six birdies through 12 holes in the final round. He was tied for second at one point, still four shots behind, but that was as close he got. Woods made a soft bogey on the 14th hole when he missed the green with a sand wedge, and was well short of the island green in making double bogey on No. 17.

He shot 69 and tied for 11th.

“I hit the ball better today than I did yesterday, and I obviously didn’t end up with the score I needed to,” Woods said.

The final edition of May was one for the record books. Simpson tied the course record with a 63 in the second round when he seized control – even with a double bogey from the water on the 17th – and he tied Greg Norman’s 54-hole record from 1994 at 19-under 197. Simpson set a record for the largest margin through three rounds. Brooks Koepka became the eighth player with a 63 on Sunday, making an albatross 2 on the par-5 16th.

And there 1,754 birdies for the week, breaking by 136 the record from 1996.

But this ultimately was all about Simpson, who had missed the cut in four of his previous eight appearances at the TPC Sawgrass and had gone 107 starts on the PGA Tour since his most recent victory in Las Vegas toward the end of 2013.

He had struggled with the ban on the anchored stroke he used for his belly putter. He finally settled on a longer handle that ran up the left side of his arm, and then Tim Clark gave him the missing link. It was at The Players a year ago when Clark suggested he also use a claw grip, and Simpson had been working his way back to golf he expects to play.

“It’s pretty special that a year later, I got this victory,” he said.

Simpson won for the fifth time and moves to No. 20 in the world. He won $1.98 million, the second-largest tournament payoff behind only the U.S. Open.

The rest of the tournament would have been plenty exciting had Simpson decided to call in sick for work this week. At one point, Dufner made a birdie to break out of a 10-way tie for third place.

“I feel like all of us were just trying to make as many birdies as possible while he was trying to run away from everyone else,” Schauffele said. “So it was an interesting week.”

Canadians Adam Hadwin and Mackenzie Hughes both finished T57 with 4-under.